Give yourself an "A" when writing your Lotusphere abstracts for 2010...
Category IBM/Lotus Lotusphere2010
At the LS09 closing session, we were mesmerized by Benjamin Zander and his life rules from the book The Art of Possibility. One of those particular rules, Give An A, hits me as the initial prep work you should do before writing the first word of your Lotusphere abstract...
When Zander teaches, he starts out the class by saying that everyone gets an A. That removes all the grade pressure from the students. The only thing they have to do to get the A is to write a letter looking six months into the future, describing what they did to get an A in the class. By looking at the end state first, it becomes much more clear to see what one would have to do to earn that end state. Your enthusiam and passion about your "A" is what will drive you to get there at the end.
Imagine what that would translate into with Lotusphere abstracts. Instead of throwing a dozen submissions at the judges, hoping one topic would stick, you assume that your abstract was accepted, the evaluations were returned, and you got the highest ever ratings for a speaker at Lotusphere. Then write a letter to yourself dated February 1st, 2010, describing the steps you took and the attitude you had to get that "A". Describe the effect the material had on the audience, and how you changed them professionally.
Once all that is solidified in your mind, the abstract becomes much easier because you *believe* in the session you "already" gave, you know how well it went over, and you can see the benefits that the attendees took away.
So what did *you* do to present the most valuable session ever at Lotusphere 2010?
At the LS09 closing session, we were mesmerized by Benjamin Zander and his life rules from the book The Art of Possibility. One of those particular rules, Give An A, hits me as the initial prep work you should do before writing the first word of your Lotusphere abstract...
When Zander teaches, he starts out the class by saying that everyone gets an A. That removes all the grade pressure from the students. The only thing they have to do to get the A is to write a letter looking six months into the future, describing what they did to get an A in the class. By looking at the end state first, it becomes much more clear to see what one would have to do to earn that end state. Your enthusiam and passion about your "A" is what will drive you to get there at the end.
Imagine what that would translate into with Lotusphere abstracts. Instead of throwing a dozen submissions at the judges, hoping one topic would stick, you assume that your abstract was accepted, the evaluations were returned, and you got the highest ever ratings for a speaker at Lotusphere. Then write a letter to yourself dated February 1st, 2010, describing the steps you took and the attitude you had to get that "A". Describe the effect the material had on the audience, and how you changed them professionally.
Once all that is solidified in your mind, the abstract becomes much easier because you *believe* in the session you "already" gave, you know how well it went over, and you can see the benefits that the attendees took away.
So what did *you* do to present the most valuable session ever at Lotusphere 2010?
| Permalink |
Comments
Posted by Vitor Pereira At 05:22:34 On 22/04/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Keith Brooks At 07:06:25 On 22/04/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Rob McDonagh At 09:37:16 On 22/04/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Kathy Brown At 09:54:42 On 22/04/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Bob Balaban At 14:22:14 On 22/04/2009 | - Website - |
Of course my presentation on "Hacking the Domino Server for fun and profit" caused great consternation when it was finally accepted and presented. But the criminals now face a tougher task.
Posted by Dragon Cotterill At 03:22:27 On 23/04/2009 | - Website - |